Keystroke Visualizer Online
Click the box, press a key or a shortcut, and see it as a pill. A free keystroke display and stuck-key check that runs in your browser. It only sees keys pressed in this tab, nothing is uploaded, and the table below says which shortcuts it can’t see.
Click here, then press any key
Held now
Most keys down at once
Press a key to see its name and code.
Click the box above, then press any key. Keys are only seen while it has focus.
This tool needs JavaScript. The pill above shows what a shortcut looks like: Ctrl + Shift + P.
Don’t type passwords here: the box shows what you press. Tab still moves focus on, so the keyboard never gets stuck in the box. Keys are not stored or sent.
How to see your keystrokes on screen
- Click the capture box. The border turns green and the box says it is listening. Keys are only seen while it has focus.
- Press a key or a shortcut. Ctrl+Shift+P shows as one pill with the keys joined by plus signs. Press the same shortcut again fast and the pill shows a ×2.
- Choose what to show. Every key shows letters and modifiers as you press them. Shortcuts only hides plain typing and shows only combinations with Ctrl, Alt or Win, plus function keys and Esc.
- Make it big. Pick Large, or press Open full screen to fill a display. Share that screen in your meeting and viewers see each key you press in the box.
- Read the panel. Held now lists the keys that are down at this moment; the line beneath the box gives the last key’s name and code.
Everything above happens inside this tab. To show keys while you work in another program, you need an app that listens system-wide; see the end of this page.
What a browser tab can and can’t see
A web page is not allowed to watch your whole keyboard. That protects you, and it limits any online keystroke display. This is what the box above can and cannot show, with the source for each row. Checked on October 31, 2026.
| Key or combination | Does the tab see it? | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letters, numbers, Space, Enter, arrows | Yes | The tab gets key events for these while the box has focus. The pill shows the key’s name (key) and the physical key (code). | MDN, KeyboardEvent.key |
| A held letter or number | Yes, repeated | Holding a character key keeps firing events with repeat set to true, at an interval that depends on the system. The pill shows a ×count. | MDN, KeyboardEvent.key |
| A held Shift, Ctrl or Alt | Once | A modifier does not keep firing while it is held, because it makes no character. That is why it shows once under Held now and not as a ×count. | MDN, KeyboardEvent.key |
| Accent (dead) keys | As “Dead” | The key value for a dead key is “Dead”, so the pill shows Dead rather than the accent. | MDN, KeyboardEvent.key |
| Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+S, F5 | Yes | This page cancels the browser’s own action for these while the box has focus, so you can see them. Click outside the box to get them back. | This page’s behaviour |
| Ctrl+N, Escape and other browser keys | Not by default | The Keyboard Lock specification lists Escape, Alt+Tab and Ctrl+N as keys a web app may want but, “by default”, does not get. Browsers keep some for themselves. | WICG, Keyboard Lock §1 |
| Alt+Tab and Ctrl+Alt+Delete | No | The same specification says Windows has a “secure attention sequence” (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) that applications cannot override, and it names Alt+Tab among the keys a page does not normally receive. | WICG, Keyboard Lock §1, §3.2 |
| Windows key shortcuts (Win+D, Win+L, …) | Don’t count on it | We found no vendor page that promises a page will receive them. Unconfirmed: what arrives depends on your browser and Windows, so press them in the box and see. | Unconfirmed |
| Keys pressed in another window | No | A page only receives key events while it has focus. This is why the box asks you to click it first, and why SHARA exists as a Windows app. | How browsers work; see SHARA below |
How to check for a stuck key
A stuck key is one that the computer believes is still down. It makes letters repeat, shortcuts misfire and buttons seem to do the wrong thing. The box helps because it lists every key it has seen go down and not yet come up.
- Click the box and press the key. Press the suspect key, a modifier such as Shift or Ctrl, or the whole row, then release.
- Take your hands off the keyboard. Wait two seconds. Held now should read None, and the line beneath the box should say nothing is held.
- If a key stays listed. After four seconds a key turns amber and the box says how long it has been down. Press and release that key again. If it clears, the release was missed; if it keeps coming back, the key or its switch is the problem.
- Count the chord. Most keys down at once shows the highest number the keyboard reported together. If you pressed six and it stops at four, the keyboard (or its connection) is dropping keys.
If Shift misbehaves after you tap it, check Windows Sticky Keys. Microsoft’s accessibility shortcuts page lists pressing Shift five times as the shortcut that toggles it (Windows keyboard shortcuts for accessibility, checked October 31, 2026). You can turn the shortcut off in Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
Tips for showing keys to an audience
- Use shortcuts only for demos. Audiences want to learn Ctrl+Shift+P, not read your typing. Shortcuts only keeps the pills to the combinations that teach something.
- Go large and full screen. Large pills in full screen can be read from the back of a room. Share that screen, or the window with the box, in your meeting app.
- Practise one shortcut at a time. Press it slowly enough that each pill is on screen before the next arrives. Pills fade after a few seconds, and repeats merge into a count.
- Switch the pill style to match the room. Dark pills show best on a light room or a projector; light pills suit a dark slide. Test it with the screen share test first.
- Keep passwords out. Anything typed in the box is visible. Use it for shortcuts and practice text only.
Who it is for
Trainers and teachers
Show a class which key combination does what. Pair this page with the PowerPoint shortcuts sheet or the Zoom shortcuts sheet and practise the keys before the session.
Anyone with a flaky keyboard
Press the keys that act up and read what the browser receives. It tells you whether a key reaches the computer at all, and whether its release does.
Privacy
Your key presses are handled by your browser and drawn in the box. They are not saved, logged or sent anywhere, and the page records nothing about which keys you pressed. The only thing remembered, in this browser’s local storage, is your pill size, style and mode. The site counts visits and button use in aggregate, never the keys themselves. Because the box displays what you type, do not enter passwords.
Learn more
Show keystrokes on screen
The Windows apps that display keys over any program, compared.
Make a tutorial video
Script, record and show your clicks and keys so viewers can follow.
Highlight the mouse pointer
Make the cursor impossible to lose, with and without extra software.
Keystroke visualizer questions
Is the keystroke visualizer free?
Does it upload or save what I type?
Can it show keys in other programs?
Why doesn’t it show Alt+Tab, Ctrl+W or the Windows key?
How do I check for a stuck key?
Can I use it to test a new keyboard?
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Show keys over every app, not just this tab
This page only sees keys pressed in its own box. SHARA’s keystroke pill shows shortcuts, typed words, command keys, clicks and scrolling over any Windows app, follows your pointer or sits in one of three places, and pauses in password fields. It is included free for your first 14 days, then it’s a one-time upgrade.
Free forever: cursor halo, click animation, Pen, Laser, Arrow, Text, Eraser, Screenshot and the Ctrl+Space Wheel. Every Pro tool is free for your first 14 days, with no card and no account. After that, Pro is a one-time purchase ($19.99 in the US).
Mashyo makes SHARA. Browser behaviour from MDN and the W3C WICG Keyboard Lock draft, and the Sticky Keys shortcut from Microsoft Support, checked on October 31, 2026. By Mashyo, founder of SHARA. Last updated: October 31, 2026.